Santa really delivered this year! I have to admit I almost didn't participate this year as last year I had a recipient that only wanted Mansions Of Madness 2nd and it really left a bad taste in my mouth. But this year, Santa really got me in the mood!

I have to say you really spoiled me, and the only way I can ever repay you is by spoiling my target as well!

You really outdid yourself. But inside I got so many things for my family!

First off, a magic set that my 6 year old is going to go bonkers over.

The box arrived the other morning as I was leaving for a local convention. It was in HORRIBLE shape, but I didn't have the time to open it and evaluate the condition of the contents. Happily the contents were in great shape and I was able to report no damage to TSS on the 2017 Wishlist.

In addition to Conquest of the Pacific (NIS) there was the following:

Viva Espana - Spanish Civil War gem. Unpunched even. I have a friend who is very interested in this period of history, so this one should see some table time in the near future.

The Thin Red Line - Napoleonic goodness.

Operation Typhoon - Minus the "detergent box". An SPI monster, have to see if I can get some players together next year at the San Diego Historical Game Convention and give this one a go.

Fire In The East. TSS said that this one needs some love (chits missing)

A small ziplock bag with a batch of "misfit chits". I will have to go through these and see if I have a use for them.

Included was a great themed letter detailing the contents and some background on the progress of these wargammy gems.

I picked up my mail today and there was a thick package from Texas. Weird I thought. Must be that Yak Attack thingy I ordered for my kayak. So I finally opened it up and low and behold.....it wasn’t kayak parts.

My Thrify Secret Santa sent me Ren Faire and I go to the Ren Fest every year so this was a fun choice.

I also received 3 decks for Doomtown and 1 for Deadlands. I have not played either but love Westerns so can wait to try them out. None are in the BGG database which is surprising.

I got a package that is from an elf, I think. I was initially a little confused until I saw the Merry Thriftmas greeting.

I will open on Christmas morning and update with pictures of the contents.

The Lego piece was not included I just used that to cover the addresses.

12/9/2017Another even bigger box came yesterday via the North Pole (which made my son really excited). Thank you Santa! I am really looking forward to all of the surprises in store for us.

12/25/2017Wow! Santa and Elf you really knocked it out of the park.First from the elf, the missing parts for my Magnificent Race game. I am so excited to be able to play this. Also, in the box was Pani-High! an interesting looking Japanese game with translations and a seaweed snack.So, already awesome, but then I opened the main box which was filled with wrapped gifts with great labels indicating who should open them. The other members of my family were surprised and delighted that there was something in the box for them. Not pictured are their very specific gifts, a huge stack of pokemon cards, a Steven Universe cup (which my daughter loves), and a couple of balls of yarn.The games look really fun. Most of them I have not heard of before so it will be great to try them out. My daughter open the Machi Koro game and seemed to be intrigued by the concept. Hopefully that means I can get her to play it.Well done Santa! My family commented multiple times how great of a job you did.

I will update with more details as we play the games.Thank you very much, TSS!

Update 1/17/2018:We finally have everyone well and over the back to school hump. We got everyone in the family to the table tonight to play Dr. Eureka. That is a quick fun game. We had a good time.I also want to mention that my daughter was asked this past week what were her favorite gifts this year and the first thing she said was the Steven Universe cup.I still can't believe how awesome my santa was this year. Thank you again.

Assistant Chief Elf Matt delivered a Sagrada sized box; turning the box resulted in it sounding like a rain stick... lots of little tumbly things inside... to open or wait till after Thanksgiving... or Christmas... perhaps just a peek as I'm really trying to complete my 10 x 10 Challenge. Careful removal of the tape on one end revealed:Nations: The Dice Game

I've glanced at this previously and will enjoy trying it out. Thank you! Careful maneuvering of the box slipped it back into the paper and reapplication of the tape resulted in my first gift to put under the tree once we get it up.

A second box was delivered by Santa's elf earlier this month and I finally got pictures taken and now posted... still need the tree up...

12/24: I got the 'tree' up last night.

So this morning I opened the other half of my Thrifty gift. Armed with a knife I carefully slit the tape on the end and in the center to reveal a copy of Timeline Challenge. I hadn't heard of this game till finding it on two of my targets lists and now I open a copy! I'm always interested in information but keeping it organized does present a challenge so I'll have to see if my disorganized tidbits can be remembered better than everyone else's.

Hubby brought a package home from work on Friday (the packages are being sent to his work) and I finally got permission to open it today... Inside were two things and a note that read: Shhh. He might be groggy from the trip! But here's Thistlehair! Thrifty Claus knows that you'll treat him as a friend. I'd even love to see some pics. He loves games and will complain if he isn't included in the fun. I hope you enjoy the holiday season with Thistlehair. Happy Gaming, Thrifty Claus.

I think he was groggy because it took him a little while to sit up straight...

Don't worry Thrifty Claus... You'll see plenty of pics of Thistlehair if you follow along with my Advent Challenge this year... I was already planning on posting plenty of pics during the challenge and Thistlehair will be included in many of the pics... Here's the link to my Advent Challenge item... It's still rather plain right now, since it was posted late last night and I haven't had a chance to pretty it up yet...

2nd Package

I got a second shipment in the mail yesterday... Hubby brought it home and it was from the Elite Elf Squad... I went ahead and opened the package to see if the items were wrapped... If they had been wrapped, I might have waited to open them but they weren't, so... As soon as I opened the package, I recognized one of the boxes, specifically The Great Chili Cookoff...

The first two I had heard of (the first was on my wishlist) but had not heard of the other three... They'll get played, but Soqquadro won't be until we get into a place of our own... It does look fun though...

First of all, an apology to you, Santa! My daughter came down with the flu this past week, the hubby got it from her, and I ended up with some sort of head congestion that knocked me on my butt... And working double shifts at work made me pretty much come home and go straight to bed with barely being on the computer to update this... We got package #3 last Tuesday and it got opened enough to see that all the items were wrapped and then decided to wait until Christmas to open them...

The third package arrived with all the items wrapped... Decided to wait until Christmas to open it...

So, we opened all of the items late on Christmas Eve, just before going to bed... First up was the smallest package, which was For Sale, the primary game on my want list... I'm really surprised about how small this version is compared to the original version of the game...

Then I gave the daughter the second smallest package to open... It ended up being Kings in the Corner, which is a game that I've seen often in the thrift stores but have never played...

I opened the next package, which contained K2 with K2: The Avalanche included... This is a game that's been fighting with For Sale as my main want list item for the last couple of years, but I figured that For Sale would be more likely to be found,,,

I gave the hubby the next package to open... It was Hansa, a game I've seen a lot about but never had the chance to play...

Santa, you knocked it out of the park with this last package... I was totally speechless seeing K2 peeking out of that package at me... That is one game that the hubby has been wanting since the one time that we played it several years ago... And the daughter was especially excited anout the Concordia expansions... I could dare say that it's her favorite game of all time... And add the fact that For Sale is one game I've been wanting for a while... I don't think there's much else you could have sent this year that would have made this a better package...

Lucky me! I've never gotten a Christmas package so early. Or sent one. This was medicinal. I've been bedridden for days, awake only an hour at a time. Dirty clothes and used games from BGG.con everywhere. Fridge empty, but I'm not eating, so who cares? It sat by the front door, forgotten, until today. I opened it and it was fun in a box. The packing material was stuffed with what I think is Battlebots BattleBall. Quality chocolates were scattered like confetti. I never thought of adding those to my mini collection. No one asks for those parts anymore. There was. A silly hat with a HUGE bill. I'll add that to my costume drawer. Stack of wrapped games which will be opened on Christmas.

The best part? The sweetest note inside a Christmas card. I have a basket of feel-good personal notes I look at when I'm down. This will be added to that collection. Thank you, Santa, from the bottom of my heart.

Some light taunting, an early gift, and the threat of not being affected in the slightest way whatsoever if I waited to open this all led to me tearing into it like a hungry dog looking for a Beggin' Strip!

Going straight for game I listed as my "dream game", Santa teased in all the right ways, making me think something else was on the way. Something equally awesome, to be sure, but not my #1 ask!

I was soooooo excited to see the front of this box staring up at me from its cardboard confines. I giggled, I jumped, I jubilated! My girlfriend laughed, but there was love in her eyes. She'd intercepted the package to ensure there were no identifiers mistakenly left behind, and was 100% ready to let me sweat it out until the big day! But then, it began to whisper. Softly at first, but with increasing intensity:

"Chris... Open me. It'll be okay. Santa wants you to. Just free me. I need to be beheld, to be played, to be adored and admired. Open me... please..."

It was too much to bear. I promptly sent my Santa a note telling them of this strange behavior. They indicated that there was probably a good reason I didn't understand, and that I should listen to the package... for my own good, of course.

We played our first game that very night! This is the start of what will surely be a most enjoyable and fulfilling collecting mission. We LOVE LOVE LOVE The Red Dragon Inn, and both of us are so thankful to you, Santa, for making us smile, making us laugh, and filling us with love.

ROUND 2 BABY!!So, I think my Santa may have taken my "best Santa ever" comment to be a challenge to be even better, because I'm pretty sure they NAILED IT!!

So here's the strange part, though. Ned stoked my anticipation to soaring heights, and I thought I could get no more excited. Yet I was wrong! Opening this shipping box was nearly the most fun I've had this year! I did it slowly, letting the jubilation seep from me. I had my lovely girlfriend do the honors of removing Santa's name from the box:

My face split into a wide, foolish, grin, as I spied the subtle edge of the sweet, sweet nectar hidden inside the cardboard shell. "Really, Ned?" I chuckled as I also looked upon... ANOTHER BOX TOP!!!:

And I beheld the vision of giving; I gazed on the very spirit of Christmas itself. A gift, wonderful to look upon:

Included was a wonderful "little" letter. Seeing a name at the bottom, I hastily decided that I do not want to delve into my Santa's identity just yet, so I make sure to thoroughly ignore it. It is perfect. It gives me small clues about the contents within, without giving anything away. I read, and my excitement grows even more:

So, yes, Ned, I have received this wonderful boon! However, I am going to try and wait a bit longer to open it. I want this feeling to last a bit longer. I'm overflowing with wonderful anticipation, and you'll see that I carefully snapped the above photo without showing your name, so that I may re-read it without fear of too soon revealing who you are.

I know that you are nearly as excited as I am to see how happy you've made me with your thoughtful gifting, but hopefully this will tide you over a little while longer, while I relish in this feeling I've got coursing through me.

Thank you so very very much, Santa. I only hope that the recipients of gifts from me, those secret, and those I love, are even half as excited as I am right now.

FINAL ROUND... FIGHT!!OMG OMG OMG OMG O........M.........G!!Ned!!!!!!!!!! You sly Santa, you! And you were worried about me being disappointed with this?!?!?! So, I took your advice, and opened the whole kit-n-caboodle in one go!

First, I had a stare-down with the package. Breaking its will subtly; letting it know who was going to be in charge for the next few moments. If you look closely, I managed to capture the exact moment the last shred of willpower left its eyes:

I then began to flay the parcel, peeling garish skin from its bony, rectangular frame. For posterity, I decided to snap a photo of the first glimpse of "game guts":

It was a mistake, to be sure. All the composure I'd garnered for this occasion melted, and I was reduced to my most basic gamer instincts. No longer a methodical psychopath reveling in the slow devolution of his victim, no. I became the wild sociopath, hungrily tearing hunks of wrapping paper flesh from my prey. As my excitement peaked, I let out a great squee, and caught this photo mid-happy dance:

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords – Base Set is something I'd probably never have gotten myself, but not for lack of want! This is probably the coolest thing I could have wished for! I used to play lots of D&D, and my 13-year old just recently started becoming interested as well, so this is like the best thing I could have hoped for to try and cement her interest in fantasy and RPG's. I cannot express how giddy is was once I unwrapped it fully. I turned it over in my hands, feeling the solidity of it. Letting it sink in that, 'This is my game now. It was gifted to me. I can put this in my collection! HELLZ YES!!'

But I wasn't done yet, oh no no no. Ned (now finally known to me as Maricel), had even more goodies! Opening the box lid, guess what I spied in my little eye?

Oooh, we've got a peeker!! Well hello there, Mr. Unassuming Square:

What could it be? I go back to the letter, and hastily scan for item #2 within. Hmmm... something about playing games with my lovely girlfriend, and getting hungry:

"Oooooooh! Cool!" I say as I get to the goods behind the frippery (i.e. wrapping paper). I start looking at the box, and I chuckle as I say to my girlfriend, "Ohh, in case we get hungry during gaming... I get it! Hahaha!" Skimming the text on the back, I'm about to put it down with the awesome Pathfinder box, when I see something that brings the excitement level up a few notches. It's a 2-player game. I LOVE 2-PLAYER GAMES!!! This gift may not be new and shiny and expensive, but it shows that Maricel put thought into what I enjoy playing, and gifted accordingly. If that doesn't make her a geek among geeks, then I don't want to live on this planet anymore!

There are now 2 small items left, and I get a little bit sad that this experience is coming to a close, but it's not nearly enough to dull this evening of fun! Something Firefly related is up next, says the note. I wonder what it could be and I thoughtfully remove the paper. "Whoa, really?!? Hahaha! This is great!" I say as I show off the solid metal Serenity I hold in my hands:

I reluctantly move on to the last item, remembering that it is something to "bling" my gaming experience. A million possibilities run through my head, but I banish them all lest I lock onto one to speculate. I'd much rather let my Santa surprise me than guess as to what it could be. Santa once again impressed me with how well little gifts can be done when one puts a small bit of thought into it. My favorite color is red, and by that token, this is now my very favorite set of these babies:

RED/BLACK SWIRLED POLYS!!!

Now, my Santa knew I have lots of dice, to be sure. But she wanted to make sure I had some that reflect my preferences and personality, and she couldn't have chosen better. My favorite color to pair with red has always been black (black also pairs beautifully with yellow). And now, I'm betting that this will be my standard dungeon crawling set!

I could not have even dreamed that my first Secret Santa on BGG would be such a fulfilling experience, and I want to make sure that Maricel knows that it's due to her diligence, thoughtfulness, and overall awesomeness! I can't wait to see if I measure up with my targets as well.

I also made a new friend here, I hope. Maricel has been an absolute wonder to "work" with, and has a grasp of grammar, language, and humor that is directly after my own heart.

There are more thrifts in Goodwill and Value Village than are dreamt of in your philosophies, Horatio.

What the? A small square envelope dashowed up yesterday from Asmodee in the mail. I looked at it with that sort of stupification that squirrels will look at non squirrel things that aren’t part of their normal world. Then I remembered that my TSS has said to watch out for a little something early on. Wowsers!I opened the envelope and was amazed to find a wild locomotive card from Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries inside. “But DOW doesn’t replace pieces”, I thought to myself. “Quiet!” I said to myself. “There’s the card that was missing from the copy of the game you thrifted and have been enjoying on a semi regular basis!”Golly, thanks, TSS! An unexpected treat to start off the thanksgiving weekend!

Update: December 11

So. I've been busy with Nutcracker for the past 7 days straight in the theater. It was a good run of a good show; nobody got too injured, and the general mood was excellent from beginning to end. And when I got home last night, I noticed there were more packages under the tree. No big deal; more out of state gifts from family, I thought. Later, while watering the tree, I looked at the packages and realized that three of them that I'd never seen before were addressed to me."Wife?" I called into the kitchen, "How long have these packages addressed to me been here?"She wandered in and looked."Oh yeah. Those. They showed up a week or so ago. I thought you knew they were here."I thanked her for the information, then bent to examine them.France? I got a package from France? Oooooooh, one from Madison! And... I'm not sure where that last one is from, but I am waiting with... anticipation for opening day.Thanks Santa!

Update: January 7

So, we're back. The catch up:Christmas was a most excellent day of presents and not getting out of my pajamas. Oh sure, I put on my new hat and snow boots for a silly picture in the snow, but it was a warm and snuggly day for the most part. And Thrifty Santa? Came through like a champ!First up: Rice Cube! A full on culinary food mold to make stuff look more interesting. I've already confused my family once by serving fried bean and rice cubes. Also,Board Games that tell Stories by Ignacy Trzewiczek! Very cool, as it is a signed copy. I never read any of his blog posts, but the collection is fascinating.

I want to say thank you to Thrifty Santa. My grandma died yesterday, and I was with her when she passed. When I arrived home there was a package on the doorstep. The kids were very excited about opening it and so we did.

Inside the box was another package wrapped in grocery store ads. (Very thrifty!) There was also an envelope which was heavy and bulging. Inside, the bulging was caused by a disc golf marker! Santa wrote about how much he loves disc golf. There was also a valkyrie meeple to use for a first player marker.

As we looked at the grocery ad wrapped box, the question on our minds and tongues was..."should we open it?" It had been a sad day, so we decided to open it. The kids helped as we tore the paper and inside was Ascending Empires! On my wishlist for a while now. I was not expecting that game at all, and santa really surprised me. Its perfect. It also helped bring in some fun and cheer on a day we needed it.

Edit 12/20/17 So At work yesterday, my husband sent me a message, saying that there was a package at home from Amazon, and had I ordered any more games? Nope...Not this time... And so when I got home I opened it and its another gift from my amazing Thrifty SS!

Thanks again for both of your gifts! I am so grateful for your kindness!

Merry Thriftmas to 1 and All! I had a really rough week, and came home from work today, and my husband told me that I had a package from amazon. I had not ordered anything from amazon! And so we opened the box and inside was a game from one of my favorite publishers! I am very much looking forward to trying out this new game this weekend!

So the big day is here and the big box (see below) is OPEN! Other than the sheer amount of games my Thrifty Santa sent me I was blown away by the variety and types of games - all of which matched my gaming interests almost perfectly - I received.

What I really loved was getting game from many publishers I don't usually get games from like Iello, Zvesda, Heritage Games, Your Move Games. Which is a great tip to future Thrifty Santas if you want to make sure you get your target something they will like but don't already have or are not already getting then look to the independent or old school publishers!

All in all I was VERY, VERY pleased with what I got as I can finally scratch Wings of Glory off my wishlist. A system a lot of you may not that Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures games was based on! Once again I am blown away by the sheer capacity of people to GIVE during this time of year something I hope and pray we will all continue into the year to come!

I just got back from a Friendsgiving weekend with our gamer friends and there was an Amazon package waiting for me. It was way too small to be the case of paper towels that I had ordered, but I figured it was something else I had forgotten about. When I opened the box, I think I actually squealed when I saw what was inside. Not only was there my number one wish list item, a brand-new copy of Castles of Burgundy, but also the CoB card game!! Thank you so much, Thrifty Santa! I was kind of sad about coming home after such a fun weekend, so this was the perfect remedy. The Christmas season has now officially begun for me!

Notes for Time Stories: Expedition Endurance - game for the game groupGame for the family- Ducks in a RowGame for a quick lunch break/study break - First & Tin Broncos EditionFor a new gamer/ component inspector - Awesome wooden pieces. As you can see in the picture she loved it.

HOLY CRAP I got a package! It's so early, wow Santa you are really on your game this year! I decided to open the box right away to umm verify that this was indeed the secret Santa package (in my defense it wasn't marked that way on the outside?) Inside were 4, 4!!! unwrapped games and three wrapped ones.

I have never heard of any of these except Star Fluxx, but I am so excited to play them all Santa, how do you know me so well? I feel like my listing was so terrible lol. I think I am most excited about the Deathbot Derby game just based on reading the box, hence why it is my item listing. So after having the restraint enough to not open the wrapped ones before we went to our FLGS to browse and maybe pick up one of my favorite small games for my target (per the urgings of my husband, I think by myself I would have had no restraint whatsoever, I came home and tore into 2 out of the 3 wrapped ones... I blame Slush! And also the Bad Idea Bears...

Oh my gosh I have almost purchased this at least twice as a used game at my FLGS! So excited to have it and see what it's all about, looks really good

And then this game, Ophidian 2360, and a bunch of card packs for it and some super cool tokens too! Also never heard of this, but I love the art already and am really excited to see the cards and play it! Now I'm going to find out I'm addicted and it's out of print or something, you watch... I haven't researched it yet, so if I'm wrong forgive me, I will find out in a minute after I post this. *Edit* Looks like this is pretty new, and that the card packs are from Ophidian 2350, but I believe they are compatible

So I still have one wrapped box, the biggest of them all, and I'll maybe try to wait with that one....We'll see how that goes.

Received a present wrapped in cat with santa hat paper but am not sure I am allowed to open. Thanks for the gift.

Received four more beautifully wrapped presents but have not been well enough to finish the challenges my Santa gave me. {I really liked the astronomy one!) Thank you so much

Update!

Sorry for the long delay. I got very ill (still very ill, just no longer to ill to write thank yous...)

The elf package was fitting a game i first heard about on the thrift listMonster Mash, a kid's speed pattern recognition with rather overdone production. Looks fun

From santa himself/herself I got

Epic Card Game I had asked for more cards for this so I could try drafting and now I can!

High Hand this brings up memories of my old game group where we played lots of Eleusis by the same Robert Abbott. This one is a partnership drafting game, looks interesting.

Bear Valley by Carl Chudyk who I have a number of other games by. I've pick up this up at the store a few times but never actually bought it. Now I get to try it! And the cover art is just great!

bOOLeO - a game about boolean logic. I though I had the only game in existence on that topic (Ergo) but I was wrong.

Thank you so much Santa. It is obvious you looked over my profile carefully and put effort into coming up with fun challenges for me and very fitting gifts. As I was too ill to do much of my usual seasonal stuff, it was especially nice to get your letters and packages.

This afternoon, the nephew brought in the mail which as usual for this time of year was loaded with packages. Having made a vow to cut off buying stuff for myself until after Christmas (a promise that Limited Run Games aims to destroy) I quickly declared none of those parcels were mine. That's when a big bubble mailer landed in my lap. I'd forgotten I purchased two coloring books before cutting myself off. That embarrassment over I returned to my coffee until someone looked at a big Amazon box and said it was for me. Like Mitch Miller once said, “must be Santa!”

Under different circumstances I might have held off on opening the box, but since I'd been making an effort to get all the recycling ready for this weekend, I dived on in. Amid a flurry of ghost poop I found a cellophane wrapped board. Living up to their hints, Santa put together a Ticket to Ride fan expansion, the USSR to be exact. Off to the side was a plastic container with all the cards. I'll be taking this to the game store tomorrow to surprise my fellow TTR lovers.

In the center was a big box game.....Memoir 44! Not only was it my main wishlist item this year, but it's a game I'd flip flopped on ever since starting the hobby. Seeing as I was looking for a new experience from this exchange this is an outstanding gift, and I never imagined I'd end up with it anyway.

I'd actually given Santa some major freedom to come up with something new for me just so long as they valued quality over quantity. Fact is I simply don't have much more room for games so it was better to have only a few good items. Honestly I half expected a copy of Carcassone and maybe some cards. Boy howdy did Santa ever knock it outta the park. Memoir 44 was a huge gap in my gaming experience and will be great at home where I can usually only talk one person into playing. USSR will spice up TTR nights at the store and can be easily stashed away with my extra boards for Trains. Beyond that the combo of WWII and the Soviet Union provided a thematic connection between all the gifts.

Thank you so very much Santa! I hope my odd wishlist didn't prove too troublesome. More so I hope you end up with a fantastic Santa of your own who showers you with goodies. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and whatever combo of traditions you enjoy.

First, I am super excited to try Lady Blackbird. I don't know how much research you had to do to find that, Santa, but it looks perfect. (I was looking for a short and fun RPG). My group will absolutely love the steampunk vibe it's got going. My daughter has her outfit ready to go. Yes, already. Guess who wants to be Lady Blackbird. Great choice!

Second, the carrot. I'm sorry to say that Santa wasn't super happy with the organic carrot I left for him one year instead of cookies. I'm not sure where Santa found this "inorganic" carrot, but it does prove that Santa has a twisted sense of humor!

I will post more after the joyous opening.

Edit 12/8 My daughter and I had a rough day yesterday so we decided to rip into those little mini stocking stuffers to cheer ourselves up. We uncovered a beautiful and unique set of dice. These are gorgeous dice. I know some people like to have a matching set when they play their RPGs, but I like all mine to be different (for ease of finding the right dice). Thrifty, how did you know that about me? My favorites are the d20 (over-sized with a nice heft and super easy to read), and the red sparkly d8. My daughter is partial to the pink and purple, and my son has his eye on the d6 with the runes (he's not getting it though). Absolutely perfect! Thank you, Thrifty, you made our day much better!

Edit 12/25 I managed to make it to Christmas even though the temptation to open was intense.So here's the haul...

All of these are in great shape. A couple look practically new! Snorta has adorable animals, and is exactly the kind of game my weird game group will love. Welcome Back to the Dungeon is one I have had my eye on before but never managed to play. I'm really looking forward to trying it. I love co-ops so I don't know why I never managed to thrift or buy a copy of Forbidden Island. My daughter will love this one, and it's right off my wishlist! Patrician and Toledo are totally new to me. I'm really excited about that. I love when I am introduced to new games. I am sure my husband will love playing these with me. All-in-all it was a perfect Thrifty Santa exchange. I couldn't have asked for, or expected better. Santa, your choices were perfect, and the correspondence was terrific fun! I can't wait to get to the gaming!!

I just received a package in the mail containing "Snow Tails", one of my most-wanted games. In true thrifty fashion, the box is decidedly beat up and taped up. The pieces inside are very well-organized - larger pieces are bagged, with a nifty plastic container for sorting the smaller pieces. I would have been thrilled to find this while out thrifting. :-) Can't wait to play it!

Inside all the packing peanuts, I'm pretty sure I have received a sausage.

Cat for scale.

Now this one is wrapped...Open or not...? What do you think?(Updated image size, wording)

Edit 12/16We are remodeling our kitchen and running into several problems. Also got a flat tire and it wasn't able to be repaired. Stressful time. Anyway, felt like the right day to open my gift. And you know what...? It was my wish list item! I got Mancala. Wait until you see this...!....................